No more

SIR - Most observers assume that India and Pakistan must be aggressive countries that hate each other enough to jump into a nuclear war. But it is not fair to equate the two states.

Pakistan has chosen Islamic fundamentalism and military dictatorships over the past few decades, while India has chosen secular democracy. President Musharraf of Pakistan has nurtured Islamic terrorist groups, and even attacked India during the 1999 Kargil crisis.

In the past two decades, thousands of Indian citizens have been killed by terrorism in such acts as the 1993 Bombay bombings, the hijacking of Indian planes and suicide attacks. After the December 13 strike on the Indian parliament, the Indian public is saying: no more.